Israel Suspends COVID-19 Vaccine Exports As Prosecutor Seeks Explanation - Reports

TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2021) Israel has suspended deliveries of coronavirus vaccines to a number of foreign nations after the country's attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, demanded an explanation on these exports, Channel 12 reported.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu's office said that some countries asked Israel for assistance in providing them with COVID-19 vaccines. The authorities gave a limited quantity of doses to the Palestinian Authority and a few other countries. Along with that, Palestine's health ministry said last week that Israel agreed to vaccinate 100,000 Palestinian workers against the infection.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz also requested that the initiative to transport vaccines abroad be discussed at a cabinet meeting, the broadcaster said. According to Gantz, deliveries of the vaccine to other states had not been talked about throughout previous government sessions.

According to the justice ministry, cited by the Israeli media, the authorities are currently examining whether such a move was under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's authority. Mandelblit said that he received a number of requests to review the prime minister's decision, and one of those reportedly came from National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat.

Among the countries that received vaccine donations from Israel were Honduras and Guatemala, national media reported, citing sources. According to them, the Czech Republic, which on Tuesday authorized the opening of a diplomatic office in Jerusalem, will also receive doses of the vaccine.

Israel started the mass immunization of its population on December 20. To date, over 4.5 million people � roughly half the population � have received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and more than 3.14 million both doses.